Do you dread that question? Nothing hits me more like a ton of bricks than when my kids ask me “what’s for dinner”, and I don’t have an answer. I’ve mentioned before that this season in our life definitely has it’s moments of being “busy”, and I’m told it only increases as we get into those teen years. When my kids were little I really started getting serious about cutting our processed foods, and being conscious of ingredients and what we were eating. But lately with spring sports in full swing, weeknight programs, and work getting busy, I’m finding myself reaching for the box of Annie’s mac & cheese more and more. I once heard the saying that when a creative person gets interrupted it’s like derailing a train, and it takes forever for them to get back on course. I can’t even tell how true that’s been in my own creative business, so when I’m working on a design board or editing photos, and trying to get that one last thing done before the day is over, and I hear “mom, what’s for dinner?” I panic.
This post is sponsored by Blue Apron. They are offering a special discount just for Rooms FOR Rent readers.
Right now the first 50 people to sign up will receive $50 off their first two weeks of Blue Apron. Sign Up – HERE, and continue reading to hear all about my experience. I was pleasantly surprised!
Do I have stuff for dinner? What am I going to make? What do I feel like making? Who am I kidding, some days I’m so consumed with my fun creative work, I don’t want to stop to make dinner. In one of the recent podcasts I listened to by Jenna Kutcher, she talks about outsourcing for your business. Outsourcing some things that will get them off of your plate, to free up much needed time to do what you do best. I’ve told my husband before that I’m moving my “office” to WholeFoods, where I can sit by the river, work on my laptop, and much on delicious food. He laughed, and I was somewhat joking, but working from home has it’s challenges. I could be right in the middle of a train of thought, and then the dryer buzzes, and I need to go push the laundry through, but I want to stay in my chair because I don’t want to loose the creative juices that are flowing in that moment, but the endless pile of laundry I need to get down is screaming just a little bit louder, so I get up. There are distractions everywhere, and I teased him that at least when he goes to work, he’s not distracted by work at home that needs to get done. I’ve resolved to setting certain days aside. If one day is for cleaning, it is not for working. And if I’m working, I will not be pulled away by the cleaning that needs to get done. This works most of the time, but there is one chore I can’t put off – DINNER! That six lettered word that I swear has plagued every mom at least once in their life. In general I love to cook, and I cook a lot for my family, but sometimes it’s nice to have a helping hand.
So I recently tried out Blue Apron, and I have to say I was so impressed, not only with the delicious recipes, but the farm fresh ingredients delivered right to my door step. I felt like I was #winning at the mom-life for that moment. My kids were so thrilled and curious when our box showed up. They couldn’t believe that you could have food delivered right to your door in this cool refrigerated box that kept everything fresh. You have to remember we live in the country, so take-out and delivery are not anything our kids have seen. Mostly because no one delivers, lol!
Mostly because no one delivers, lol! They were so excited to open it up, they wanted to start cooking right away. They both love to help in the kitchen, especially my daughter, but it’s really sweet to see how proud they are of our meals when they get to help prepare them.
Blue Apron made choosing meals so easy, and honestly that was a nice break from my brain as well. To not have to plan out a meal from start to finish, and worry about if I forgot one of the ingredients or not was a huge time savor for me. They offer different meals to choose from each week, which keeps a nice variety in our meals. I don’t know about you, but usually I find myself making the same 4-5 meals every week. It’s not because I don’t like to cook – I do, but when life is busy, I find myself not having the time or energy to put into meal planning, and get stuck in a rut.
The best part was, my kids were so excited to try the recipes. It was like opening a present, but with yummy, fresh food inside to make. My daughter just started really getting into cooking shows. So when she saw all the ingredients easily labeled, and perfectly proportioned, she squealed saying “mom it’s just like on my cooking shows!” It was so cute, and I didn’t have to worry about her putting in too much or too little.
I wouldn’t consider myself an amazing cook, but I have mastered some basics. Something that I found enjoyable was the chef inspired sauces. You know when you go to a restaurant and you can order something similar to what you could make at home, but it just has that extra touch that makes it that much more delicious? Yeah – I found their secret, it’s in the sauce! I was never very creative or adventurous when it came to making glazes, or sauces, Blue Apron took made it easy for me.
One of the recipes we tried was their Fig-Balsamic Chicken. Everything in the ingredients I knew my family liked, but the key was in how they were put together. In general, my kids aren’t picky eaters, but they do have their things they don’t like. My son in particular, does not really like things that look different, or that he doesn’t know what they are. We had a running joke when he was a toddler, I would always tell him “You like that, you’ve had it before” even if he hadn’t, but that was all the reassurance he needed to eat his dinner, lol.
When I put dinner on the table that night, the first thing he asked was “what is this sauce on my chicken?”. Knowing he likes balsamic dressing on his salads, I told him it would taste similar to that, and so he began eating. The exclamations to follow were not expected though. “Mom, this is amazing!” ” I love this sauce”. SUCCESS. I had never gotten more compliments on a dinner before than I had that night, and I knew the secret was in the sauce.
So I got a little adventurous with the next recipe. We love salmon, and eat it quite frequently, however the sauce for this recipe had me cautious.
I tried cooking with capers early on in our marriage, and let’s just say it never happened again. My husband and I are both pretty adventurous with food, but after that experience we just figured we didn’t like them. 
So much so, that I literally was ready to leave them out of this Salmon Piccata recipe. But I figured I would give it a shot, considering the success I had with the balsamic chicken. I was shocked!
It was delicious! Let me take that back, it was beyond delicious, so much so that when I put the plate in front of my husband, he cautiously said “I’m not a huge fan of capers”, and I reassured him, that neither was I, but you have got to try this. 
Turns out I just didn’t know how to prepare them. With Blue Apron’s recipe, I was able to have great success, and the best part is, you get to keep the recipe cards from the meals you order, so I can’t wait to make this dish for company. It’s the perfect spring inspired meal!
So in case you are unfamiliar, or have heard about Blue Apron, but have some questions, here are a few things to know:
- They deliver all their food, fresh in refridgerated boxes so you don’t have to worry about it going bad.
- They offer 8 new recipes each week to choose from and they are always adding to their menu.
- All recipes can be prepared in under 40 minutes from start to finish, mine were done in under 30 minutes!
- There is not commitment, you can cancel at any time, there is no hassle.
Ready to try it out for yourself? Remember Right now the first 50 people to sign up will receive $50 off their first two weeks of Blue Apron. Sign Up – HERE
**This post was sponsored by Blue Apron, but all of the opinions are 100% my own.**
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Thanks Bre for this chance but it’s just me so i can fix something and keep it for three days of freeze it. Your children all certainly cuties and helpful, look like. Have a nice evening.